This account is pending registration confirmation. Please click on the link within the confirmation email previously sent you to complete registration.Need a new registration confirmation email? Click here

JPMorgan Almost Put $1.32 Billion in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme

By October, JPMorgan had placed redemption orders for $78 million it had invested into Madoff feeder funds. Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, JPMorgan then sought to redeem all of its remaining Madoff exposure, and unwind some of the structured products it had written.

All told, through the fall of 2008, JPMorgan's position in Madoff feeder funds fell from $369 million at the beginning of October to about $81 million by Madoff's arrest on Dec. 11, 2008.

Obviously, it could have been worse... and this from a bank that went on to lose in excess of $6 billion on a similarly complex credit derivatives trade now known as the "London Whale."

On Tuesday, JPMorgan agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement on two counts of fraud and $2.6 billion in total fines. The bank, which has already reserved $23 billion for its disparate legal exposures from the housing meltdown, trading losses and LIBOR-related investigations, said in a Tuesday filing it will boost its litigation reserves by $400 million. Since Tuesday's settlement is not tax-deductible, JPMorgan forecasts a $850 million reduction against its fourth quarter net income.